Just Once
by arccie
Summary: An unusual occurrence gets Fuji and Echizen to talk. [Warnings:slight FujiRyo, but only if you're looking for it]


Ok, this is another one I'd forgotten to post to ff(.)net I was feeling very forgetful at the beginning of the year. Please bear with me as I bring my fanfiction account up to date. Thankyou.

And for those who haven't read it before, enjoy.

**Just Once**

Air pushed harshly past parted lips, muscles burned with fatigue and the sound of pounding footsteps filled his ears. Each step was an exercise in will power; his thoughts long ago reduced to a simple mantra.

_Just a little longer._

Fuji concentrated on just getting to the end. It was down to the last sprint and he refused to give in. Even if it did feel like his legs were lead weights and his lungs burnt with each breath.

As he passed the finish he tried to determine if any of the others had managed to get a step ahead, but as usual it had appeared they'd finished together.

Fuji was…disappointed. Even though he (usually) enjoyed Inui's concoctions, he much preferred watching everyone else's suffering.

He avoided the bodies that had collapsed earlier, gradually slowing his sprint to a stop.

Mission complete, his body tried to order his brain to sit down. However, he had a reputation to uphold, and a few laps weren't going to see him on the ground with the rest of the regulars, no matter how much his muscles protested his movements.

Why couldn't it be an overcast day with a cold breeze to cool the sweat slicking their bodies? Hot muggy, sunny days, just didn't have the same appeal.

He forcefully straightened his legs and turned to face the others, expecting the usual sprawl of bodies lying under Tezuka's watchful eye.

What he didn't expect was to see Echizen just coming to a stop as he passed the finishing point.

This unusual occurrence held the entire tennis clubs attention.

Echizen Ryoma just did NOT come in last.

Yet he seemed indifferent to everyone's stares, uncaring of the looks flashing between the boy and Inui's latest bubbling concoction, unconcerned with their stares of fascinated horror.

Echizen didn't even wait for Inui to bring the jug of juice to him, already moving to the table to stare it down.

He acknowledges everyone's continued stares with a sideways glance of gold eyes and the barest outline of a smirk.

The freshman picked up the jug of juice and let it hover at his lips, playing to his audience. Then he was tipping it into his mouth, downing the entire jug in a couple of swallows. The club watched with bated breath as the jug was returned to the table, Echizen calmly turning to survey the club members.

His gaze stopped on Tezuka, a questioning tilt to his eyebrows. Tezuka returned the look impassively. Echizen shrugged carelessly before jogging towards the locker room.

The silence was soon broken by Eiji's loud exclamation.

"Whaaat? Nya, Inui. What's wrong with your juice? Ochibi didn't even flinch." Eiji paused, considering the situation. "Maybe I should try it."

Oishi was shaking his head, even before Eiji had completed the sentence.

Eiji pouted at his partner, but refrained from asking Inui if he could try the deluxe penal tea version five.

Inui was rapidly flipping through one of his notebooks, his disgruntled muttering interspersed with furious note taking. "Hnn…probability of Echizen failing 8.9, decreases to 1.5 when Inui juice is involved…hmm…definitely something wrong. Factor in illness…increases probability of failure to 20.1...but the strange behaviour that followed…not characteristic of sickness…"

Fuji was in definite agreement with Inui. Something was wrong with the team's super rookie, but he was pretty sure the answers weren't going to be found in any of Inui's data.

Tezuka, obviously deciding the younger boy had already made too much of a spectacle, clapped his hands sharply to catch everyone's attention.

"Today I want the regulars on 'D' and 'E' court. Inui/Kaidoh pair versus Kikumaru/Oishi pair. Momoshiro will play me. Freshman, you're on 'A' and 'B' courts, free hitting. Other club members have stroke practice with Amano-sensei."

As there was no mention of Fuji himself, he took it as permission to hunt down the team's youngest member. Actually, if Tezuka's stern look was anything to go by, it was a downright order.

It wasn't hard to track down Echizen, the boy having gotten no further than the locker room taps. The freshmen glanced warily at Fuji as he entered, but didn't lift his head from the running water.

Fuji let his smile grow across his face.

"Ah, so the world isn't ending. How disappointing. Eiji was going to try Inui's juice because it didn't seem to have any effect on you. I should probably make sure to tell him that would be a bad idea."

The younger boy ignored Fuji's gentle teasing, his only action being to remove his mouth from the tap and position his head under the water. When his hair seemed soaked through Echizen turned off the tap, lifting his head to shake off the excess water.

Fuji stepped back from the spray of water and, not sure whether there was going to be a repeat performance, just waited as Echizen settle on the floor, head tilted back against the wall, knees loosely clasped in his arms.

Sure that Echizen had settled for the moment, Fuji moved to take a seat beside the younger boy, mimicking his position.

As the silence stretched between them, Fuji replayed his memories of earlier in the day maybe they would offer some clue to Echizen's uncharacteristic behaviour. However, he quickly drew a blank; nothing had been out of the ordinary in Echizen's behaviour until he _came in last_.

But Echizen still wasn't talking. In fact, he seemed perfectly happy to fall asleep just as he was.

Fuji held back a sigh at the other boy's stubbornness. "So…"

Gold eyes flickered in his direction, an obvious question of _'So, what?'_ in their depths.

"So…what's wrong?"

Echizen fixed him with an irritated look. "Does something have to be wrong?"

"One Echizen Ryoma, Seigaku's star freshman just drank Inui juice for finishing last. You tell me if there's something wrong with that."

"Because of course I never fail, especially at something so simple. Only held back by the rate at which I'm able to develop my potential."

"And your height."

Echizen glared at Fuji for that, his comparative lack of height still somewhat of a sore point for the younger boy.

"So nothing's wrong?"

"I could of course be suffering family problems. Or even, heaven forbid, feeling slightly unwell."

"But you're not." Fuji let his hand rest on the younger boy's shoulder. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Anything you'd like to tell me will not go any further."

Echizen hesitated. His eyes affixed themselves to a point across the room, avoiding Fuji's gaze, a straightening of his shoulder the only indication of the freshman's resolve.

"I just wanted to see what it was like."

Fuji cocked his head, confused by the ambiguous statement.

"I wanted to know what it was like to fail everyone's expectations, wanted to see how people reacted, what I felt…" Ryoma trailed off, chin settling on his knees

"And…"

"And what?"

"How did it make you feel?"

Echizen smirked. "Sort of sick actually. Those Inui juices are lethal."

Fuji slapped the freshman's shoulder. "I assumed that was a given."

Ryoma's smirk slipped from his features, accompanied by an uncomfortable shrug. "Nothing. I felt nothing. No sadness. No joy. No relief. Just nothing."

"Except the enjoyment of a good performance, hmm?" Fuji's sly remark had Echizen tugging at his cap, trying to hide his pleased smile.

"They were all so shocked, weren't they? Except Tezuka. He just looked annoyed that I was disrupting practice."

"Tezuka's a difficult nut to crack. Even if he's stunned, shocked, horrified, the most you're likely to get out of him is a raised eyebrow."

"Taken being stoic a bit far really. Hasn't hurt his popularity though. Of course, that's probably why Monkey King tries to provoke him so much." Echizen's voice took on a mocking lilt, "Only Atobe-sama's personality is worth people's adoration after all."

"Like you can talk. Look at the size of your fan following. With your attitude, it can't be your personality that's attracting them."

"Of course not, it's my prowess on the tennis court." The joke fell flat, as did the smirk that tried to accompany it.

They lapsed into silence, neither knowing quite what to say.

Trying to salvage the moment, Fuji brought conversation back to its original purpose.

"Since this attempt was such a failure, are you going to try it again?"

Echizen shook his head, attention seemingly absorbed in his fingers.

"Not going to purposely fail?" Fuji checked, "Not going to volunteer yourself for Inui juice again? Not going to purposely lose your next match?"

"I think it's going to be a one time thing. I've already proved to myself that there's nothing in it for me if I lose. I enjoy winning so that's what I'll do."

"Ahh, that sounds more like the Echizen we know."

"And love?" Echizen quirked an eyebrow in Fuji's direction.

"See, brat mode already."Fuji directed his comment to the air around them, pausing before adding, "It's alright to lose sometimes."

Echizen looked insulted "Nobody beats me at tennis."

"Well you better get out there and start doing that, or Tezuka will have you running laps the rest of your life."

Echizen stood and began making his way from the room, but paused at Fuji's voice.

"If you're good, I think Tezuka might even let you play a match against me. Might even finish off our last match."

Echizen tipped his hat at Fuji. "I'm allowed to beat you, right?"

Fuji eyes followed Echizen as he walked out the door. Watching as he rebuilt all his layers, the quietly proud boy becaming the arrogant brat they all knew.

Fuji smirked.

It looked like rain, after all.

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Reviews appreciated. Criticisms considered. Flames ignored.


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